Reading, Writing & Pondering

Do opposites not only attract but do they really find lasting love? In Starfish Pier by Irene Hannon, first grad teacher Holly Miller is on opposite sides from from ex-Delta Force military man turned fisherman, Steven Roark. Starfish Pier is book 6 in the Hope Harbor series. I have enjoyed this series all the way through and couldn't wait for this book. Hannon's Hope Harbor feels like a great place to live. I have enjoyed all of the characters up until now. I do like Holly and Steven, the main characters in Starfish Pier . I also like the other newer characters. However, I didn't honestly enjoy this book as much as the others in the series. Hannon is an excellent writer and this book does contain her usual complex characters. However, I felt like this book had more of an agenda than a story to tell. Three of the new characters had challenges that were at odds with a Right to Life issue. While I know that is an important topic, it just felt a little more forced in the ...

God shows his love to us in so many ways. Moms and Dad also show love to their children in so many ways. Mama Kisses and Papa Hugs by Lisa Tawn Bergren gives children a taste of both how parents love and how God loves us. We have been reading Lisa Tawn Bergren's God Gave Us series for children and have enjoyed it. Mama Kisses and Papa Hugs has gentle humor and a fun storyline. It doesn't take some kids long to decide they are too big for hugs and kisses but this book reminds them that both God and parents never stop loving them no matter how old they get. I liked both the prose and the message that Bergren sends in this brightly illustrated book. Mama Kisses, Papa Hugs draws both parents and kids in to a story that I believe all ages can enjoy with its message even though it is aimed at those ages 3 to 7. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

Hand Lettered Truth: 60 Inspiring Verses From God's Word hand lettered by Debbie Bratton is a gorgeous gift book newly released from Ellie Claire. Hand Lettered Truth isn't just a bunch of random verses in a book. Instead, Bratton shares the gospel through these gorgeous verses. This is a book for both established Christians and those people that you would like to share the love of Christ with. Each of the 60 verses are hand-lettered in beautiful colors. I could see this being a gift book for many different types of occasions. I enjoyed both reading through Hand Lettered Truth and in taking time to really meditate and soak up the illustrated verses on their own. This isn't a book with information on how to do hand lettering, instead it is a gift book done by an expert in hand-lettering. However, I could see where it would be inspiring for those who want to try their own hand at hand-lettering and by those who do Bible art journaling. I received this book from ...

Chances are pretty good that in one way or another that right now you are facing a storm of some sort in your life as we navigate the corona virus challenges in our world. Peace in the Storms of Life by Julie Rayburn is an uplifting devotional full of readings that can help keep your mind on God during this challenging time. Peace in the Storms of Life contains 125 devotional readings. Each devotional starts with a Bible verse, moves on to a short reading, and concludes with a few questions to ask yourself for the day. Purple and green are two of my very favorite colors and as you can see from this cover picture, this devotional is covered in gorgeous wisteria and vines. However, it is even better that each devotional continues this gorgeous color picture throughout the book. Peace in the Storms of Life is truly full of encouraging words for women. I just love the beauty combined with the short readings. I have heard several people say that they are struggling to focus and re...

I have watched Dr. David Jeremiah on TV for many years. I always appreciate his Bible wisdom and how he tells a story in his sermons. I was excited to get a copy of The Jeremiah Study Bible: Psalms and Proverbs edition. The Psalms and Proverbs edition of The Jeremiah Study Bible is in an easy-to-carry-around size at a little over 5 by 8 inches. It comes in the English Standard Version and has an elegantly bond durable cover that I think is leather. Inside it is a mix of dark easy to read print and red letter for heading and Book introduction written by Dr. David Jeremiah. At the bottom of each page are study notes and there is also some cross referencing. Side Bars are also prolific throughout the book and full of good information like Why do bad things happen to Believers?, Why we should praise God, Why pray? Along with the Scriptures, Dr. David Jeremiah gives a lot of food for thought in these short blurbs. I like this two-book edition of The Jeremiah Study Bible a lot. It was...

Have you read The Gryphon Heist by James R. Hannibal? If so, you are ready to continue to wild adventures of Talia Inger and her co-horts in the recently released book, Chasing the White Lion . In The Gryphon Heist , readers meet fledgling CIA agent Talia Inger just as she joins the force and goes on her first big adventure full of intrigue and page-turning action. In this second book, Inger has a few months worth of experience and a few ops under her belt. The same elite group of thieves and agents make up this book's adventures as the first book. All of the action in these books left me feeling just like I was watching a James Bond type movie within my mind--Hannibal does a great job with description and pacing. I also enjoyed the cast of characters and how they worked together. I liked that their personalities really came through in Chasing the White Lion . I especially liked learning about Finn and Valkyrie and how they ended up in their lines of work. They became more li...

The Basic Bible Atlas by John A. Beck is subtitled "A Fascinating Guide to the Land of the Bible." This book truly IS fascinating. Beck brings the geography of the Bible to life and makes it interesting to the reader. The Basic Bible Atlas is divided in to two parts: Introduction to Geography and Putting the Story In Its Place. Beck says that if you are just getting started with Biblical geography that this book is a good place to begin because "it focuses on the basics and the big picture." In the second part, Beck moves from the story in Genesis at the beginning of the Bible right through to Revelation. He hopes that by the end of the book that the reader will know the lands of the Bible better as well as how geography helped shape the Bible. I like The Basic Bible Atlas a lot. Other than the maps at the back of a Bible, I've never really studied the geography of the Bible times. I found this quite interesting. Beck also writes interesting narratives...

Jemima Graber is an old-order Amish wife and mother. Recently she and her husband, Roy, have become distant. She has four little ones and has been a dutiful wife and mom, patiently waiting for her dream of owning a food truck to come true while Roy continues to invest in the family's horse farm. Only now, something is wrong and her dream isn't going to be realized. Roy is distant and his behavior is erratic. What is wrong? Read the Englisch Daughter by Cindy Woodsmall and Erin Woodsmall to find out. I haven't read an Amish novel for a long time so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I enjoyed The Englisch Daughter. The story grabbed me from the beginning and kept me turning pages quickly until the end. I was also impressed that this book deals with some issues many women deal with like how to remain close to your spouse during the years of parenting young children. It also dealt with some issues that are unique to the Amish and I learned some things about the A...

Are you a middle-aged woman thinking you will never love again? Wedding Bells After Fifty by Autumn Marie is a small book full of big stories about women who found true love as an older woman. Autumn Marie shares the stories of ten different older woman who got married later in life. Each of the woman are very different and the stories of how they met and got married is very different. Yet, in each of these stories the women found someone that clicked with their personality. I am actually not the target audience of this book in that I am a middle-aged woman but I am already happily married to my husband for nearly twenty years. The stories in this book are encouraging but they also offer things to think about in merging families and personalities that an older woman should consider. Since most of my blog readers are people of faith I would mention that while they talk about faith in some of the stories, in several of them, the couples often live together before marriage and don...

After having children, I think it is easy for a lot of women to lose who they are. When she started feeling lost, Sheri Hunter joined a group of women from her church to find a support system. What Hunter found is much more than a group of friends--she found a group of sisters who called themselves the Dare Divas who challenged her to live life to the fullest. She tells her story in Daring to Live . A few years after the Dare Divas started challenging each other to live with courage and face their fears, Hunter faced one of the biggest challenges of her life. Her husband, Mannard, passed away at just 50 years old. Hunter struggled to face that challenge and at times turned to crutches like alcohol for a time to numb the pain. But she faced that challenge too, found an accountability partner and conquered that. Through the years, the Dare Divas supported each other with love and prayer--and challenges to do some big adventures together--like whitewater rafting, zip lining, and even...

No Less Days : David Galloway is old. . .as in over a century old. He is living a quiet life in Michigan running a used bookstore. When daredevil Zachary Wilson walks away from what looks like a deadly fall, David tracks him down. When he finds him, he finds a few others like himself who offer him friendship and community. Together they support each other and they come against some challenges in their community. From Sky to Sky : No Less Days tells the story from David's point of view in the series, while From Sky to Sky is from Zac Wilson's point of view. In this book we find out there is a lot more to Zac Wilson than just being a daredevil. He is a character with a multi-faceted personality and one who is a true empath. When the group is connected with a couple of new people who also are living longer than normal lives, he helps find out the story behind their current struggles and also helps to unite them in the end. However, at the end of this book there are still l...